


A Fresh Start

by TherealKyena



Series: A Rose By Any Other Name... [2]
Category: World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft - Various Authors
Genre: Angst, Bad Flirting, Brooding, Demons, Dreams and Nightmares, Drunkenness, Lan is done with her children fighting, Original Character Death(s), Other, Priestesses, Shadow magic, Tay has heart eyes, Tay seriously just leave Val alone, Terrible Jokes, Threats of Violence, Val doesn't put up with any shit, Warlocks, Worgen, alcoholic character, she's brooding over the loss of her squad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-14
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2018-12-29 16:59:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12089376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TherealKyena/pseuds/TherealKyena





	1. A Meeting

She was but a whisper on the wind. Easily lost. Forgotten. Merely a short body with beautiful eyes. Those eyes would be the only thing that you'd remember from an encounter with her. Those emerald green beauties that was the only thing visible under the depths of her hood. A mask obscured the rest of her face. She kept her eyes trained on the entrance to the inn, watching for a woman to come wandering in.

Valliona Lark was waiting for a contact.

She had tossed her legs onto the tabletop long ago, a habit from a time that seemed a hundred years past. She tried to keep her memories from creeping into her mind's eye but she had no such luck. Not when so many faces from her old home still floated around the city as if dazed. They were the ghosts that kept her firmly tied to that long destroyed place. She ignored the spark of pain that flared in her chest and returned her attention to the archway. Her drink was long forgotten, gone terribly cold, a once steaming mug of a strange tea that the Night Elves brewed. It smelled fine enough but was too sweet for Val's taste. She liked hers bitter. Bitter and hot. It helped burn away her sins.

She pulled herself from her self deprecation, newly heightened ears pricking at the sound of a soft melodic voice. Not to say that all Night Elves didn't sound like they were singing half the time, it was just that this particular elf never seemed to anger. She was always sickly sweet. 

It nearly drove Val mad to talk to her. But she needed her help. She needed something better to fight for than another group that she would betray.

_ You killed me. You told me you loved me and you killed me.  _ Connor told her in her mind.  

_ No _ . She whispered to herself.  _ I didn't betray them. That monster wasn't me.  _

"O belono’ana, Hessia. O ashe so’uhada sidae, shan fa’lore. " The hooded woman stepped lightly into the room, pulling it from her face, revealing her flawless face even after a thousand years.

The other woman trailed behind her, clearly the same age as the priestess. Her dark blue hair was barely held in the deep hood. She caught the other's arm and wheeled her around, hissing at her. The other shook her head at her, dropping the priestess' arm. "Dal so’uhada naen thoribas!" She cried.

The priestess straightened herself and cupped her hand on the woman's cheek. "O thoribas andu-shanna’falah di’nor, fa'lore." She said quietly. The other woman nodded once and left calmly without another angry glance in her direction. The priestess turned and wandered over to the barkeep, asking for what Val assumed to be a steaming mug of tea. She minced over to Val without even moving the liquid in the cup and set it down gently, tugging off Val's hood. She ignored the growl that escaped Val's throat. "It is uncivilized to wear hoods inside, Lady Lark." She breathed as she slid into the seat opposite the little human.

_ Forrester. _ A little voice corrected. She fought the urge to touch the necklace where the ring still hung so hard that her hand jumped. Either Landrelia didn’t notice or chose not to say anything.

Her feet were pushed from the table and the priestess earned her second growl in the span of a few seconds. "You know, love, you ain't gainin' any points." She ground out. Her emotions still ran a bit wild and it didn't help that the priestess had made her wait nearly an hour.

"I had told you earlier that I might run into trouble, Shalla. It would take me time. You merely arrived too early." The priestess blew on her mug and took a sip, setting it down without a clink. 

The assassin let out a grumble. "You elves and your endless roundabout gabbin'!" She reoriented herself in the chair, tucking her legs under herself, as they wouldn't reach the floor.

The priestess laughed and shook her head. "You Gilneans and your stubborn way!" The priestess remarked. "Quit fussing and sit straight." She hissed. Val quit wiggling in her seat, finally getting her feet tucked comfortably. The priestess raised a brow and let out a sigh before continuing. "I overheard that you were interested in work other than your...other talents." The priestess eyed her. It probably wasn't because she looked particularly friendly either. Val looked as if she could kill you as easily as one would spread warm butter on a roll. The priestess had caught onto that fairly quickly, even if their previous conversation had been brief. 

"You want to use those talents elsewhere? For a better cause than lining your pockets?" Val nodded once, earning a gentle smile from the priestess. "I know of a coalition." She held out a scrap of paper. "I've contacted an associate of mine. I'm to escort you to the first gate of Darnassus so that you may meet our leader and the rest of us, if you are interested, that is." The priestess looked at her expectantly.

Val took the paper. It was three names, written in differing scripts, all signed with impossibly neat handwriting all the same. Cydris Autumnleaf. Faelysia Autumnleaf. Taylande Silverblade. She looked back up at the priestess and gave the shortest, smallest nod she'd ever given.

The priestess pulled her lips into a sad grin. "I am glad that you've joined us." She gave Val a grave look, her face pinched. "Because we've lost our Keeper."


	2. New Beginnings

Connor drifted into her view. All smiling and healthy and alive. 

He face shifted, growing more wolfish the longer she stared. Hanks of black fur sprouted from his face, his mouth and nose lengthening into a wolf’s. Only his icy blue eyes told her that it was Connor. “You told me you loved me and then you killed me.” He growled.

Panic settled into her chest. “That wasn't me, love! I swear it.” It sounded like she was talking through water. Darkness enveloped the both of them and soon the ghosts of the others she had killed during her rage came up. Their hands wrapped around her throat, choking her, making her sputter apologies.

Then Connor stabbed her in the heart.

~~~~~~

She awoke bathed in sweat, the blankets twisted and wrapped tightly about her legs. Her breathing was ragged as she tore herself out of bed. 

The knocking came again. Softly. “Shalla, are you in there?”

It was Landrelia’s soft voice that came from the other side of the door. No small wonder it was the priestess that rescued her from the streets. She’d mother hen everyone if she could. It wasn’t surprising, the woman didn’t have any children of her own, besides the fact that she was  _ old.  _

“Shalla, Keeper Cydris needs to meet with you. She sent me to fetch you-” The door creaked open just a slight bit, a sliver of light shining through.

“By all means, love, come right in.” Val remarked. She tossed her unruly hair from her face, trying to get it somewhat smoothed out before Lan said anything about it. Light only knew how many questions the priestess would ask.

Lan sighed. “You know I dislike being called ‘love’. Call me by my name, Shalla.”

“Then you have to call me by mine.” She couldn’t help but put a sassy edge in her voice, stripping her pajamas from her body and slipping into her linen shirt and dark pants, dragging her leather armor over it. She tugged on her boots after her pants and headed towards the bedroom again, dipping her fingers into the basin of water and scrubbing at her face. “What does Cydris want?”

“I’m not sure. She said something about needing your skills to track for clues as to how Keeper Unas died.” Lan pursed her lips, looking around the room. “How long has it been since you cleaned in here, Valliona?” Her nose was curled a bit as she lifted what had originally been an article of clothing, tossed aside and forgotten after a long scouting mission.

Val ripped whatever it was from Lan’s hands, throwing it behind her head and into her room, where she heard it smack against the wall. “Well I apologize, Princess, for not keeping things up to your standards.” She quipped. 

Lan let out a sigh and pulled back on her hood, tucking her braid into it behind her neck, Val following her to where they wanted to meet.

~~~~~~

“Since that house is under my care, I would like it to be kept cleaner than that, Valliona.” Lan stated. The implication in her tone had Val standing up a bit straighter. By the Light, that woman made her feel like she was nothing more than a grain of sand. To Landrelia, Val might as well have been. She was only a few years over twenty, a handful more and she’d be thirty. 

The priestess was one of the newer members but she'd already gotten much of the favor of the new keeper. In all honesty, it should have been Lan that lead, for Cydris wasn't old enough. She had the ears of Cydris and often gave her and the others the advice to help them run the day to day of their small force for peace. 

Val thought the whole thing horse shit, but she had nothing better to do and her arms were losing their muscle. She'd only be with them for a short time, wanting to find her way into Stormwind quickly before these people had anymore hold over her life. Already they'd give her housing free of charge. 

“You've had the dream, again, haven't you?” The priestess said suddenly.

“Huh?”

Lan let out a sigh. “You've had the dream again, the one with what you assume is your mother.”

Val blinked and jogged a bit to catch back up with the priestess’ long stride. “Just another long night.” She quickly told the lie again. She hadn’t had that particular dream in a long while. Mostly it was the dream of Connor and the others that quickly changed to a nightmare.

“I'm finding it curious that you're even having these dreams.”

“Oh, light, don't start turning philosophical on me.”

“I-”

“She visited me once. With that black haired girl from that dream. She wasn't that much older than I, Kenatia. That girl is half the reason I agreed to come along with you people. Since all of the refugees came through here I thought you'd know of one with her name. You have to help me find her. I need to know if she’s my sister.” She spoke quickly through her lies. She’d grown better at lying to the priestess. Of course Val had the dream of Kenatia and Lady Chesterhill. She’d already connected the dots as to who they were to her. One piece was missing though, who could have fathered her? Did Lady Chesterhill throw away Val after she was born? How could the woman love Kenatia but throw away another daughter?

It would have been a matter of time before he raped her mother and stuck Val in her belly. She shivered at the thought. If so, she’d murdered her father in cold blood. Kenatia’s father as well.

Lan’s sigh took her out of her thoughts, as well as her toe colliding with the stone stairs. The priestess gathered up her robes as they made their way up the long set of stone stairs up to their gathering spot. Val could hear the voices of Taylande and Faelysia arguing softly. As she stepped into the open air room, they stopped, Tay’s eyes landing on Val instantaneously. Cydris sat on a low bench, watching everyone with a nervousness.

“Everyone, to order.” Landrelia called. Cydris looked at her with a mix of envy and thanks before she stood and cleared her throat.

“As many of you know, our former Keeper Unas was found murdered in his home last week. Nearly a month after the Shan’surfal that was held in Darnassus. The murderers left behind a ritual knife, which was most likely the murder weapon. Along with a patch of cloth from a robe, done in purple cloth, not unlike ancient Kaldorei would dye their clothing, along with edging of silver. A journal was also recovered and is indiscernible as to it’s meaning at this present time.”

Tay snorted and let her eyes wander over to Valliona. She met her eyes for a fraction of a second before the drunken mess flicked them back at Cydris and Landrelia. Something about the gesture made Val think of Lan, the way that she seemed to be watching everyone but trying hard for them not to notice.

Frequently, the senior priestess would lose her train of thought, or say something made no sense. Afterwards, if you told her what she said she’d look at you with glassy eyes. Oftentimes, she’d look lost, even in the middle of the Temple or Darnassus. Valliona had taken to following the priestess wherever she went. Perhaps Lan didn’t realize what exactly Val was doing or she chose to just enjoy her company. Both Tay and Lan both had a loneliness to them. Like they wished to reach out but their fingers weren’t quite long enough.

“And what do you propose we do, Keeper Cydris?” Faelysia spoke up. Normally, she was quiet, faded into the background. She relished a fight though. Even though their group was defined as a force of peace, many of its members were military people from the Kaldorei as well as the Draenei. Valliona had been one of the first humans accepted into the group, even if she wasn’t exactly human in the first place.

She felt the wolf tugging at her arms. At her legs. She shoved the thought away with a low growl. “I say we find out who these murderers are and we hunt them down. Who’s to say they’re not going to target someone higher up. Perhaps even the High Priestess. If they’re in Darnassus, they’re anywhere.” Valliona spoke up as well, adding to Faelysia’s words. The warrior nodded in her direction.

Cydris shot a glance back to Landrelia, as if looking for confirmation. The elder nodded almost imperceptibly. “To start, I believe decoding this journal is our first order of business. It’s written in some kind of language. One that even the High Priestess cannot decipher. She sent us to a sort of priestess, Phebenora, hoping that she might have come across something like this. The Draenei refused to touch the book, saying that it was written in demonic tongues.” Cydris took a deep breath. “This means we need a warlock. A powerful one. As much as I dislike the thought.”

Her eyes swept the crowd gathered. “Are we all in agreement?”

The space was launched into heated discussion, whether or not it was their place to go out and fight or that it should be left to the bulk of the Alliance to look into the matter. They debated the use of this warlock, hissing about the dangers of magic and fel magic. Val took the opportunity to sneak a few of the fruits that sat between her and another of her group. She hadn’t eaten in a few days, finding it rather hard to want to snag a bag of coins with her mother hen around, save for a couple of meals that Lan paid for when they went to the inn. She hadn’t been in long enough to warrant getting pay and living separately from everyone else made it impossible to come to group meals.

“Stealing again, Val?” A voice called from in front of her. 

She looked up at Taylande through her lashes, shoving a bite of an apple in her mouth. “So what if I am?” She mumbled through a full mouth. She didn’t care if anyone happened to see. It was delicious. Far more so than the ones at home. They were tarter, much like she liked them. Only apples were meant to be tart and crunchy, every of fruit could be sweet.

Tay smirked. Something about it made Val want to look at Lan more closely. Both she and Tay lifted the same corner of their mouth when they smiled. “I’m not going to tattle.” Tay lifted one of the smaller fruits to her mouth and munched. “I’d much prefer if this was wine. Or better yet, Dwarven ale.” The elf smiled at the thought.

“You’re a filthy drunk, Taylande Silverblade.” Val hissed. She cocked her head at Tay, shoving a small loaf of sweet bread into her pack along with a few other items. “Don’t you have better things to do than bother me?”

“You’re awfully testy tonight, have you not been getting enough to eat?” Tay crossed her arms over her chest, smirking in that way that made Val want to punch her until there was nothing left. The damn elf could go rot for all she cared. Never had she felt more exposed than when Tay looked at her. Like she could see right through Val. It was unnerving, almost like being regarded by a bird.

“Go bother someone else, Taylande.”

Tay opened her mouth to speak when a hush came over the previous screeching. “We must figure out who this is and the threat they pose to Azeroth. If they are killing our people, then they will stop at nothing.” Landrelia’s voice was strong as she eyed everyone gathered. “I have already come into contact with a warlock named Ophelia Smith. She will be here tomorrow to meet with us and to decipher the book. For those of you in such dire opposition, we do not expect you will stay with us. You may leave, if you choose to do so, but we will not forget this.”

Nobody moved.

Landrelia nodded. “Then we have reached an agreement, Keeper Cydris.”

“Anar-Elune, Val. It looks like we’re going to have ourselves an old fashioned investigation.” Tay remarked, her customary smirk coming over her lips.

Val fought the urge to roll her eyes. She was about to retort when Lan came sailing over to her. She saw Tay straighten almost imperceptibly when Lan arrived. Perhaps the priestess just had an aura of authority to her. “Valliona, we may have need of your skills if we find what I believe we will find in this journal. We may have to send you to spy and reconnaissance for us in the field. I shall keep you posted if the need arises.”

She moved to walk away and discuss matters with Cydris but she hesitated. Lan reached into her pocket, pulling out a small but overflowing sack. “I believe this is for you. Enough for provisions until we figure this mess out, Miss Lark.”

Val took the coin eagerly, feeling the heavy weight of gold in her hands. “Thank you, priestess. Elune athala dal,” She smiled up at her as she gave the customary line. She was surprised at how well some of her Darnassian was coming together. Val ignored Tay’s sudden look. She’d spent many a meal rehearsing her Darnassian with Lan. “So this is my new beginning, hm? Right back where I started?”

Lan gave her a sad sort of smile, almost wistful. “There are a great many things that we wish we could do, Valliona, but our fates weave a different story.”


	3. The Warlock

It was an odd sight to see. Val was surprised that Lan of all people would find a warlock. Let alone be in the same room as one. Val was waiting in the wings until Lan or Cydris called her into the room. A pitiful guard Val might have made to the untrained eye but her wolf was scratching at the walls in her mind. She’d made a point to calm this wolf, after spending most of those remaining months trying to get back to her human self. She remembered watching her brethren be picked off one by one from the traps set by the humans. She’d been able to avoid them, to calm her wolf by herself, and hide amongst the other survivors.

Val saw a shape move from the shadows. The smell alone told her who it was. Always smelling like one cup or another. “Where did Lan find this one?” Tay hissed under her breath as she sidled up next to Val. She moved to put her arm on top of Val’s head, like she had been doing for the past couple of times they were at meetings. Val clenched her jaw so hard she thought her teeth might crack. The wolf was roaring in her blood, urging her to set it free. Instead, she shook off Tay’s arm and slid one of her swords from her waist. Tay looked down at the point of Val’s sword pressing lightly at her armpit. She looked mildly surprised, almost resigned to a fate that seemed to be presenting itself.

Val assumed her best bitchface. “You do that again, Tay, and I’ll be bathing in your purple blood.” Val hissed, shooting the giant a hard glare as well.  _ Fucking tall ass, fuck ass, noble ass night elves and their stupid fucking long ass legs. It’s not fair that they’re half giant. _

Tay made a face down at Val and rolled her eyes. “What’s the matter with you, Val? Feeling a little  _ wolfy?” _

The wolf boiled over. She felt the shift start in her bones. “Alright, that’s it.” Her voice was always the first to change. Tay’s mouth fell open slightly when she heard the gravel sound of it. Tay had never seen the wolf. Not yet, but if she wanted to, Val would be happy to show her the damned thing. “You want to see the monster I am-”

“Valliona!” She could see Lan glaring at her through the red that washed over her vision. A wave of her hand and Val couldn’t move. It constricted her chest, made her wolf cringe back inside of herself. Agony rippled across her entire body.

Something murmured in her ear. Like it was through layer upon layer of water. “Priestess, I'd let her go. Any longer and even her wolf blood won't protect her.” The warlock said quickly. Her warm voice surprised Val. It was a tether thrown out at her, something that distracted her from the mind numbing pain that coursed through her.

The pain left all at once. It only left a lingering ache in her muscles, the only reminder that it had been real.

Half a heartbeat later, or an eternity, the warlock went back to pouring over the book. “It's written in the Demon Language, that's for sure.” Val took a closer look at the warlock. She could've easily been someone's mother. She was of middle age, at least forty or so, and garbed in a black robe. The long sleeves brushed against the table as she leaned over the book, her long fingernail glossing over the page as she read. Her hair was a honey blonde, instantly reminding Val of the Smith twins back in Gilneas. She had their same brown eyes, rich as the soil. “I'll have to summon a demon to help me decipher it.”

Lan narrowed her eyes. “Not on our soil, Ophelia.” She flicked her eyes to Val for a moment, the movement of her getting to her feet had been more interesting to her than speaking with Ophelia

The warlock bowed to the priestess. “Of course, Priestess. I wouldn't dream of it. I shall need to go to Felwood. It's already corrupted wholly, correct?”

Lan nodded slowly as she contemplated it. “Perhaps we can look into some work there. If the cult would be anywhere, it would be Felwood.” She said, equally as slowly as she thought about summoning a demon in Kalimdor. The damage was already done to Felwood though. Nothing more could happen to the once pure wood.

“I’ll head over ahead of your group; to get everything all set up.”

Lan motioned for Cydris to come forward. Their Keeper produced a piece of paper and a quill for Lan. She wrote quickly, her words incomprehensible letters to Val. It was nothing like Common, the Darnassian writing. Full of swirls and curving letters that seemed no more than random wiggles. “This is a voucher of sorts for the hippogryph master across the sea. You’ll have to charter your own passage across the channel to the mainland, Lor’Danel to be specific. Ask for Teldira Moonfeather.”

Ophelia arched her brow. “How will a piece of paper guarantee that I get into a highly dangerous area?”

Lan bowed her head in sorrow. “After the Cataclysm, I tried to save her twin, Caylais. She was too far gone for me to attempt anything.” Something else flickered in her eyes. Val almost thought that the priestess lied. Val chose not to say anything, at least not for the time being.

Ophelia nodded towards Lan. Something else told Val that Ophelia didn’t believe that Lan had told the whole truth either. But Ophelia kept the conversation off of that topic. “I’m already there, Priestess Moonblade.”

~~~~~~

_ A few days later... _

Her gryphon flapped lazily between Tay’s and Lan’s. Cydris and her sister had gone ahead of them to meet with Ophelia to be certain that she had gotten to Felwood in one piece. A few days they let pass, giving the warlock enough time to gather her supplies and pick a suitable spot for the summoning. The sea was calm below them as they set off, the continent of Kalimdor visible in the distance, growing closer with each flap of their mount’s wings.

Soon, they’d be flying over the ravaged lands of Darkshore, still in the midst of rebuilding their villages and towns on the western coast of Kalimdor. Val tucked herself deeper into the folds of the tattered coat from Gilneas. It had been patched and sewn back together so many times that Val wasn’t sure it still counted as Connor’s anymore. But it was something that she could cling to. Something besides the ring that she still wore on it’s chain around her neck.

Lan had said it would only be a few hour’s flight to the mainland from Rut’theran Village. Val settled in once more, letting herself lay against Aerin’s feathered neck, protected finally from the chilly winds so far above the ground and promptly fell asleep.

~~~~~~

“VAL!” Tay roared in her ear, startling her out of a good dream for once in her life.

She rubbed sleepily at her eyes, trying to get her bearings. “Why in Light’s name are you yelling in my ear for?” When she was tired, her accent came out thicker than if she was fully awake.

Tay let out a sigh. “We’re here, wolfy. Let’s go.” She held out her hand for Val to take, hauling her up to her feet. “The warlock wants to hunt for a good spot to draw her idiotic circle.”

Val nodded and followed after the group that filed after Cydris and Lan, off towards the thicker part of the wood.

~~~~~~

Nearly half a day was spent chasing around Ophelia as she hunted for the perfect spot to create this summoning circle.

Ophelia drew a massive sigil into the dirt of the little valley between two tree lined hills. It was a meadow of sorts, perhaps even a crater left by an Infernal. It didn’t matter. It had another purpose today. She pulled strange reagents and bottles from her endless supply of bags as the group followed after her through the thickness of the trees. She drew her circle carefully, making sure nothing interfered with the lines. It was dangerous, she explained, to have anything that could cause the circle to collapse. For herself and anyone around her. At that, everyone took a step back and went to go do their own things elsewhere.

Lan sat by her hippogryph, singing hymns softly to herself as she meditated. Val could’ve sworn that she saw Lan glow while she sang, but she couldn’t be certain. Something about Felwood made you see things that might not necessarily be there. Perhaps it was the demon’s influence over the wood. The potent fel magic could be enough for anyone to go mad. Val spent her time listening to her sing. It reminded her of home, of singing with Millicent and Aster and Cyri for Winter Veil. The wistful lilting music, even though it was in a different language, made no difference. Music was music, it did not matter what it was. Music was something for everyone to share.

All too soon, Ophelia called everyone back.

It was time to begin.

~~~~~~

An hour of crazed chanting later and the circle fell into itself, the smell of demons drifting over the crater.

The demon did not seem too amused to be found in a trap. “You are Vastrah. I hold your name. I command you, tell me what this says.” Ophelia all but growled, her voice forceful, fearless.

The sayaadi merely pursed her lips. “What do you want from me now, Ophelia? I cannot divine the location of your girls anymore than you can. Leave me in peace.”

Landrelia scoffed at the succubus. “Peace? Is that what you want?” A flash of silvery blue light danced between her fingertips. Elune’s Fire, or so Val had heard.

The warlock merely held out a hand to Landrelia. As if that could stop an angry priestess. “We need her, Priestess. Control yourself, otherwise it’ll give her what she wants.” Ophelia’s eyes burned with sincerity.

The succubus gave Lan a smirk before she turned back to the Gilnean. “What is it I have to decipher?”

Ophelia held the book open. “This. We have reason to believe that it’s a missive from whatever group murdered their old Keeper.” She jerked her head back towards the rest of them waiting at the sides. “I could only get meaning out of a few words here and there but I haven’t studied Eredun in a few months.”

Vastrah sighed and bent closer to the book, her black eyes scanning over the words. After a minute she jumped backwards away from the book as far as she could get in her little prison. “Send me back.”

“What? Vastrah, what’s so frightening about this book?” Ophelia scanned over the words. Nothing jumped out at her.

“It’s a missive all right. But not from a group that you should go hunting after. Leave, don’t keep going on this wild chase.”

“Who are they, Vastrah?”

“Disciples of Nilan, or so he calls himself now. I know the demon lord by the name of Maleor’kanas. Nathrezim sounding yes?”

Ophelia nodded vigorously, as if to prompt Vastrah into speaking faster. “What does this have to do with-”

“Let me finish, mortal.” She hissed, wrapping her whip around her arm. She held out her hand, an image materializing from it. “This is Maleor’kanas as I knew him.” The image twisted and took a more concrete shape. Typical of a Nathrezim. “This Maleor’kanas died on Argus. Murdered by an Eredar lordling for his power. I was there. He would have killed me if Maleor hadn’t gotten in the way.”

“How sweet.” Tay hissed. Even Val fought the urge to say something sarcastic. “Little demon had a lover.”

Vastrah sneered at Tay. “We all do, Taylande.” She smirked when Tay started at the demon knowing her name. “Your name is in this book, a very apt description of how you look, along with your movements for the past five hundred years.” She spat at Tay, not even deigning to give her another glance. Instead, she turned back to Ophelia. “As I was saying, This Eredar took his name after he murdered him. Even took his face.” She shivered at the thought. This was all very strange, even for Val. Should she even still stick around with this group that seemed two steps away from getting their heads served up to this demon lord?

“What does this have to do with the cult, Vastrah?” Ophelia prompted.

“Oh, I suppose I never answered your question.” She took a step towards Ophelia and the open book. “This, right here,” She pointed to a runes that must have been a name. “Is Maleor’kanas’ name. He writes this to tell them to hunt down a pair of priestesses for his Lord Nilan.”

Ophelia had enough. “Go back to where you came from.” Another string of unintelligible chanting and the Sayaadi was gone. It left behind nothing but the faint smell of brimstone.

“This name, Maleor’kanas, will get us nothing. It’s not the demon’s true name.” Ophelia shuddered at the thought. “Besides, I could not summon an Eredar Lord if I wanted to. I’m simply not that powerful.”

“Surely there must be something we can do.” Lan bent to the book, scanning it one last time.

Ophelia narrowed her eyes at Lan. “What’s this we business?” She shot Lan a look that was full of fear. Val could smell it pumping through her. The oh so acrid tang of it belied what she wanted the others to think. Val was in the same boat as Ophelia

“You’re not staying?” Lan sounded incredulous. It didn’t surprise Val in the least. Any sensible person would turn tail at this point. Hell, Val wasn’t sure she wanted to stick around any longer.

“I’m not dying for this.” She hissed, gathering up more supplies in her pack. “My advice, hightail it back to Darnassus and bury your head in the sand. Change your name. Get some cheap glamors. Hide out far far away from everyone.”

“Coward.” Lan growled. 

Ophelia pushed herself towards the priestess. Even though Lan was on the shorter end for her kind, she topped Ophelia by a good foot at most. “Vastrah is a powerful Sayaadi. She doesn’t scare easily.” Ophelia clenched her jaw. Her eyes darted around the group gathered. “If she’s scared, we all should be.” She stalked off towards her horse, bags slung over her shoulder. The group watched her get smaller and smaller.

Something tugged at Val to speak up. It itched at the back of her brain. Ophelia was just too similar to the Smith twins. She had to know. She  _ had  _ to. But, it would be easier on both of them if Val didn’t rip open every damn scab she had. She deliberated for a moment, her opportunity slipping further and further away in the fel twisted wood. Her eyes darted between Lan and the distance figure of Ophelia and her sorry looking highlands pony, a leftover from Gilneas.

Val made her choice.

“Ophelia! Wait!” She jogged over to the warlock as she was adjusting one of her dozens of saddlebags on her horse.

Ophelia took a breath, her hands gripping her saddlebags tightly before she let them go, turning to face Val fully. “What?” Her brow was arched as if to ask who she was to talk to her.

“The Sayaadi. You used her to try to locate someone.” When Ophelia made no move to flee, Val pressed her luck. She had to know. “Who?”

Ophelia shook her head in dissent, but not very convincingly. “No one.”

“Who?” Val prompted, meeting Ophelia’s warm brown eyes again. Again, she thought of Emma, with her soft smiles and gentle way and her affinity for sewing. Even Noira, who was as dirty as a pig, usually as brown as her eyes from the dirt. Only thing that separated them was the whites of her eyes. “Ophelia, you can tell me. My name is Valliona For-Lark. Valliona Lark. We’re from the same place.” A feeble attempt at persuasion but Val couldn’t shake this feeling of dread that settled in her belly.

Ophelia’s eyes drifted closed. “Emma and Noira. My twin girls. I lost them when I was still back home.” She inspected Val a little closer. “They’d be maybe a handful of years younger than you, maybe about eighteen. Fifteen when the worgen started butchering people during the Cataclysm.”

Val swallowed hard against the lump burning in her throat. Her eyes pricked with tears. Flashes danced before her eyes. Flashes of their smiles, their laughs, their blood on the cobblestones of Gilneas City. Their cries of pain.

Ophelia’s face brightened. “Did you know them?”

Val forced a smile, patting Ophelia’s shoulder. “No, Ophelia, no I didn’t” She turned towards Lan, who was waiting for her on the edge of the clearing they’d found for their ritual. “I suppose I should be going.”

Ophelia caught her hand tightly, both of her hands gripping onto her. “Take care of yourself, Val. You remind me of those girls.”

Val could feel herself nodding at Ophelia, letting the words stick into her heart like a knife. It was the least she could do, to let these words hurt her, for Emma and Noira. To look their mother in the face. But she still couldn’t muster the courage to open her mouth and tell her of their fate. “Of course.” She couldn’t keep the tightness from her voice. Roughly she pulled out of Ophelia’s grip and started towards Lan and Tay.

Angrily, she wiped away the tears from her eyes when she turned her back on Ophelia. Let Tay and Lan see. She didn’t care. She didn’t care about either of them. She was just here to find her sister.

Val felt the waves of shame as they rolled of Lan. She wouldn’t even meet her eyes as they walked together back towards their mounts. “I apologize for my behavior the other day, Valliona. It was unseemly to use such harsh magic on you.”

Her voice was still tight, fighting it’s way out of her throat. “It’s not your fault, Lan. You were just trying to do some damage control.”

“Please just accept the apology from goody two shoes and move on.” Tay interjected, sauntering up to her hippogryph.

Val shot Lan a look and just smiled. “I accept your apology, Priestess.” She said quietly, falling into a now comfortable silence next to Lan.

At least they hadn’t had to book a flight. Aerin was still perched happily in a tree, curled into herself, her breathing was even like she’d been sleeping for days. The hippogryphs were similarly slumbering, though Lan’s was visibly distressed. The damned things freaked Val out. They could speak bloody Darnassian. By the Light were they smart too.

Lan stopped short, her hippogryph speaking in Darnassian, faster than even Tay could understand. Lan seemed to be the only one who could really understand the hippogryphs when they were this insistent. “Jai’alator, asha shanna haru?”

More of the harsh squawking Darnassian. Val couldn’t make sense of the words like she had for Lan’s speech. The Priestess paled as she switched into Common. “If their base is in Felwood-”

Val met Lan’s eyes, coming to the same conclusion as the oversized chicken and Lan. “Then we’re right where they want us.” 


	4. Disappearance

Aerin leapt from her perch and flapped over to Val. One quick check to make sure the saddle was still on tight enough and she was in, rapidly gaining altitude behind Landrelia and the rest of them.

“We go back to Darnassus. We tell High Priestess Tyrande what we’ve found and we will have the Sentinels help us take care of this.” Lan called over the blowing winds and the furious flapping of their mount’s wings. She sounded almost scared. Her eyes kept flicking over to where Tay flew, to her right.

The other priestess appeared to have forgotten Vastrah’s words. That people were tracking her. The expression on Taylande’s face was unreadable. Val thought she might show a tiny touch of emotion. Anger or fear. But she was a blank slate.

Half the time, Val thought Taylande lived her life in a daze. Bumbling from here to there without a care in the world. She had a fondness for certain people but for the most part kept to herself. Val feared for her friend. She seemed spiralling out of control. It felt like Val could do nothing. She supposed it didn’t help that Tay could be impossible to be around.

Val settled herself into her saddle, looking back towards the shoreline that they were rapidly approaching. This flight was even faster than their last just a day ago. Even the mounts were freaked. She’d never seen Aerin fly faster than she was now. But Val couldn’t find it in her to be afraid of the speed. The wind threatened to unseat her. To send her plummeting to her death far, far below them. It was always freezing when she flew. Even her beast blood couldn’t fight against nature for that long.

She was surprised that she found something that was more exhilarating than running as a worgen. For as much as she hated the transformation, it wasn’t without benefits. She was stronger now than she’d ever been, faster too. When she could shift, she’d grow to be taller than even Lan. Par for the course, she supposed, becoming a beast would only make you look more beastly.

Going at this speed, she guessed that they’d arrive back in Darnassus soon.

~~~~~~

When they landed at the docks, the group slid from their mounts, letting them find their own way to the top without their weight dragging them down. Lan took off towards the portal that led for a quicker way to Darnassus. Hippogryphs could get you there, but they had to take a lazy spiralling way to avoid anyone slipping from their backs. It took far too long for their purposes. They had people to warn.

Her robes billowed loosely around her. Lan had always seemed too thin, too shrunken on herself. In spite of that, Val had never seen anyone fight as hard as she did. She was deadly with that staff of hers. Even when they trained Lan held back no punches. She’d left Val with a fair share of bruises and split skin. Aching muscles from trying to keep up with her speed.

It was the same ache that radiated from her calves now. It was hard enough to keep pace with any Night Elf but one with a mission in mind was impossible. Val found herself having to jog to keep up with them both. Irritation kept creeping over her mind. She knew her beast was clawing for a way out. It was getting longer and longer between stretches for her to stay in her human form on the flipside. The beast didn’t like that very much. It found whatever excuse it could to come tearing out of her.

Val let out a long sigh. It wasn’t long before she gave in and let the shift take hold of her. It wasn’t so painful, not anymore. Especially since she wasn’t so opposed to the beast she’d become. It was a gift, a terrible one, but a gift no less. She was lucky that the Gilneans worked their way around having to buy entire new wardrobes with every shift. A little magic seemed to be the solution to everything. An enchantment placed on armor allowed it to stretch and shift to whatever shape the wearer needed.

Soon, she was astride with the both of them, earning a sideways glance from Tay. Lan paid no mind, continuing through the portal as if she were walking through nothing more than an archway.

Transportation like this always made Val feel topsy turvy. Going through even a short maelstrom of magic was enough to flip your stomach every which way. But just a few heartbeats later she was walking on solid stone once more, standing on the far side of the Temple of the Moon. No matter how many times she’d seen the massive stone structure, no matter the few times she’d been allowed inside, it still took her breath away. It was beautiful. Vines almost engulfing it. Gardens overflowing with every sweet smelling flower and herb. It was always flowing with priestesses and other patrons of the temple. People coming for blessings, guidance, or just a quiet place away from the hustle and bustle of the city proper. 

Now Lan and Tay slowed to a walk as they reached the stone arched bridge over the myriad of little streams that flowed all around them. Moths flew overhead in the twilight of Darnassus. The air was the music of crickets and people’s voices drifting all around them. Laughter like bells, the liquid speech of the Night Elves.

It all faded behind them as the quieter temple grounds drew closer. The soft murmur of the priestesses and their constant singing overtook them. It almost made time slow here. To ease the tensions that had overtaken the trio. Val found herself letting her shoulders unbunch, heaving out a long sigh of relief. She’d have to come here more often-

“Valliona,” Lan’s voice brought her rushing back to the present. To their pressing dangers, “Tyrande has asked if you would like to wait outside for us. While we speak with her.” 

She found herself nodding down at the priestess. For once she was taller than Lan. She didn’t even notice the snub until the pair was long gone. By that time, she found a quiet place and sat on the ground, watching the moths drift by in the twilight. The little creeks as they bubbled past her under the bridges and walkways played almost like a lullaby she’d long forgotten. She’d catch the Matron humming it to her absentmindedly every so often. It was a sweet song, the words long lost to her by now, only a few lines stuck in her mind.

_ Ah! may the red rose live alway, _

_ To smile upon earth and sky! _

_ Why should the beautiful ever weep? _

_ Why should the beautiful die? _

She hummed the tune to herself as she leaned her head back against the stone pillar. The stars sparkled through the spaces between the leaves, almost tantalizingly close to her due to the great height of the tree. Faintly, oh so faintly, she could hear a woman whispering the words to her. Almost like a ghost did so.

Val jumped forward, her hands reaching towards her weapons, forgetting in her haste that her claws made excellent daggers.

A laugh came from behind the pillar, a figure making its way around with it’s hands help up. As they came into the light it was more apparent that they were male. He kept his head and face uncovered, unlike a few people that Valliona knew, exposing his toothy smirk as he came closer. “I hope I didn’t scare you.” He tucked a length of his pine green hair behind his ear, his smirk now turning into a friendly smile, one that crinkled the skin around his eyes.

His clothes were simple enough, high quality by the cut and fit, just a plain shirt and trousers. Over the shirt he wore a leather jerkin, tooled with images of the seas. He came closer and slid next to her, while still giving her some space. “I’m Kalendris,” He declared, sticking out his hand towards her.

She did the same, grunting out her name as he wrapped his hand around her forearm, giving a traditional Kaldorei handshake.

He cleared his throat, staring out towards the water almost wistfully. “I suppose you’re wondering why I came to harass you.” He asked as he arched his brow. Another warm laugh followed. Val couldn’t help but crack a smile along with him.

“That was the first thought to cross my mind.” The roughness of her voice always caught her off guard, no matter how often she spoke as a worgen. Quickly, she closed her eyes, letting herself relax and fall back to her human skin. At least he had the decency to turn around while she did so. His little gasp and the rustle of cloth against cloth told her he’d turned. She cleared her throat and pushed herself more upright, letting her legs stretch out in front of her. “So why exactly did you want to bother me for?”

He turned slowly, peeking at first before he faced her fully. “I came to Darnassus to visit my sister. It drives Min’da crazy when she stays too long in the city, even if Draennah’s grown. She’ll mother us until we’re old as dirt like her,” He snickered to himself, looking abashed, “She’d kill me if she knew I said that. Anyway, I saw you sitting here all alone, looking like a lost little puppy. If you’ll excuse the pun.”

Val shook her head. “No, just waiting for someone-”

“Useless! I should have known better.” Lan hissed, her voice echoing throughout the calm of the temple. Val’s head jerked towards the sound, forgetting about Kalen for a moment.

“Well, I suppose that’s the person you’re waiting for?” He arched a brow, the expression almost a copy of the look Lan could get every so often.

Val shook the thought from her head. Landrelia had no children. She’d said so herself. “Yes.” She said, more than a tinge of sadness coloring her tone. Lan hadn’t sounded happy. The meeting must have gone south far faster than she thought it would. Their High Priestess would not be giving them any aid.

She made a move to get up, but Kalendris caught her arm. She stared down at him while he himself rose, her eyes locked to his. She’d never felt smaller than she did right now. He topped even Tay’s impressive height by almost a full foot. Her head was level with his chest. “You look like a traveler, Val. If you could do me a favor, on your travels, keep an eye out for a woman with green hair like mine. Silver eyes with chips of gold in them. A tattoo that looks like twin blades done in green like her hair.”

Again, Val found herself nodding, pain arching its way through her heart at his broken expression. He let go of her quickly and went on his way, leaving Val staring after him with confusion knitting her brows together. She shook it off, walking briskly towards where Lan and Tay were talking back and forth in fast Darnassian. Her approach had them cut their conversation short.

“Tyrande will give us no aid. For fraternizing with a warlock and bringing demons into the world.” Lan spat, for once anger seizing her. Her eyes looked stormy as Val searched her face for the woman Kalendris had described. She looked close enough to the description he’d given.

“Landrelia,” Val started, gripping the priestess’ arm. “Do you know anyone named Kalendris?”

Something flashed across Lan’s eyes as she suddenly stiffened. It was almost as if she became a statue. Or lost in a trance. Then she shook her head. “No. No I don’t.”

~~~~~~

They decided that the next move they’d take would be to recuperate from their trip and meet back at the gatehouse to discuss their plans after that. Val dragged behind, her exhaustion finally settling over her.

She flopped down onto her bed and rose only when it was fully dark outside. The house was deathly quiet. The only sound was the occasional scrape of the quil as Lan wrote. Probably outlining plans that they could take. That or writing for allies to give them aid. Perhaps her old comrades at the Winterspring temple.

She sat in the quiet for as long as she could stand before she had to leave. It would drive her mad. At least in the din of a tavern she could lose herself in the cups.

She mumbled her goodbyes to Lan and settled the tattered coat around herself. At least she could hold onto that one little piece of Connor that he’d given her. She wondered if he thought any more of her when she’d do her little things. Wearing the coat. Keeping the ring on its chain around her throat. Checking every crowd of Gilneans hoping that she’d see at least one familiar face amongst them. Emma or Noira. Cyristalen or Aster or Mill. Hells, even  _ Embry _ would be preferable to this piercing loneliness. 

The Gilnean inn was easy to find. At least it had noise as opposed to the house.

She settled herself into a corner table and watched the people mill about. Now Gilneans populated the taverns and inns, looking for places to drown their sorrows in alcohol and others. She supposed she was lumped in with all the others. Not so different after all.

She caught a glimpse of hair so shockingly familiar she couldn’t help but yell out his name.

“ _ Embry fucking Hayward? _ ” She cried, incredulously, her voice trembling with disbelief.

He whirled around, face white as a ghost, lips parted. The same icy blue eyes looked at her though now they were accompanied by hefty dark circles. “Valliona Lark.”

_ Forrester.  _ She rose and crossed the distance, surprised when he opened his arms to enfold her in a tight hug. He was just as big as Val remembered, though he topped out at a more human height, probably around six foot. “How-where-”

“I’ve been alright, Val.” He laughed, pulling out of their hug faster than Val wanted to. “Got out of Gilneas with nothing and now here I am, living the dream.” He said, sarcasm coloring his tone.

Val searched his eyes. For what, she had no clue. A hint maybe? Had he gone off the deep end losing his family and his homeland? He had been there towards the end of the groups journey together before she-

“Do you want to come up to my room? I’m sure we have a lot to talk about, some not for certain ears here.” He jerked his head towards the stairs that disappeared through the meaty smoke from the kitchens.

She found herself following him up to the private room. They had so much to talk about. How much they’d grown over the years. The room was nice enough. A little small but still furnished comfortably. A double bed and two tables, one by the bed and the other wedged between two overstuffed chairs sitting before the fireplace.

She settled into the plush chair and watched him shuffle around the room before he sat across from her. She almost couldn’t contain herself. “Do you know if they made it too?”

“Our little group of street rats?” He questioned as he dug around a drawer, pulling out a cigarette box. He offered one to Val, smirking as she snatched up the Gilnean cigarette and sat it on the little table between them. His expression changed swiftly as he lit both cigarettes, taking a long drag before he spoke. “I hadn’t heard anything about them. Nothing in any record. My guess, they’re long dead. Especially after what you did.” He didn’t even try to keep the accusation out of his voice.

Val found herself staring into the fire that crackled in the fireplace.

Embry let out a sigh. “That’s not what I meant.” He said quietly.

She met his eyes again. “Did I really kill them, Embry?” Her voice was just as soft as his.

He dropped her gaze and rolled up one sleeve, showing off the gruesome looking bite that had torn through the creamy whiteness of his skin. She couldn’t help but gasp at the sight. It looked almost like whatever attacked him had almost torn the arm off it was mangled so. His voice was grave when he finally spoke, all rough and gravelly, “You didn’t kill me. It would make sense that  _ some _ of them survived.”

Her eyes locked to it, hand drifting forward to run a finger over the ravaged skin. “I did that?”

He leaned forward so she could look at it easier. “Abellaria thought I’d lose it. The beastblood helped heal it. Here we are now.” His other hand covered hers. “I don’t blame you, Val, I understood the first time I changed. Its...rage.”

Their eyes met. Something sparked in Embry’s. She forgot everything. Connor. Aster. The rest of them.

Nothing mattered, not to her silly brain, when Embry kissed her. They were all thrown out of her head when he gathered her in his arms and carried her to that soft double bed.

~~~~~~

Val crept along the path to her home. Something was different about it. It felt wrong. Like there was a heaviness in the air.

Something long blew in the wind like a blade of grass. A whiff of goddess drops floated past her, along with the tang of fear and panic. In the dim light of the lanterns, Val finally realized what exactly it was.

Landrelia’s long pine green braid was tacked up to the door frame with a dagger.

A new note was tacked up with it as well. Written in that same strange language of the demons.

The song came drifting back to her.

_ Ah! may the red rose live alway, _

_ To smile upon earth and sky! _

_ Why should the beautiful ever weep? _

_ Why should the beautiful die? _


	5. Planning

Her legs burned as she ran to the Craftsman’s Terrace. How many times had she ran since she was a child? Since the break that Embry had caused. Nothing hurt her since Abellaria healed it when she was a teen. And it had never felt better. The braid weighed her down though. The implications that it held were too much to bear. They should have never gone chasing after what murdered their previous keeper without more support. 

Val should have been with Landrelia instead of with Embry trying to forget her pains. She should have torn whomever took her limb from limb and saved her. Lan didn’t deserve to wonder why Val had effectively abandoned her when she needed her the most. And what had staying with Embry given her? Guilt over betraying Connor’s memory. She is- _ was _ his wife. She had promised to be his and only his just as he had. What would he think if he knew? And with  _ Embry  _ least of all.

She shook off her thoughts with an angry toss of her head. If she wanted to find Lan she couldn’t let her emotions get the better of her. Not if, when. She had a sinking feeling that whatever strangeness would overcome the priestess had been done to her by this group of demons. That they may not stop at merely capturing her either.

Val’s wolf raged in her mind at those thoughts. Spurring her on faster towards Taylande.

It was a hasty meeting she called for, sending most of them ahead of her to their usual meeting place. She was running for the inn now, chasing down Tay as she would go from tavern to tavern on her quest for oblivion. Of course it was Tay that wouldn’t show up.

She found her half fumbling with some random girl, her eyes all afire, a smirk tugging at her lips. How many was this now? Ten? It was a wonder that Tay even had time to get out of a bed at all.

The wolf burned hotter in her chest. How quickly it would rage when Val was irritated! It sent fire all through her limbs, threatening to change her whether she wanted it or not. And so she did, rising up taller than the priestess and her newest conquest. “Taylande Silverblade, get to the meeting place  _ now.” _ She growled, grabbing Tay by the scruff of her neck and hauling her from the tavern, much to the flailing and cursing of the priestess.

She made Tay stumble ahead of her on the path, pushing and shoving her when she slowed. She’d even  _ growled  _ at her. Like a damned dog. But Tay had to listen to this. She had to know that the people who had killed Unas were amping up their attacks. Besides, it wasn’t coincidence that he’d been killed either. Not when the mastermind of his death sent out a missive wanting both of them brought to him.

_ What does this all  _ **_mean_ ** _? What mess did I stumble into? Who exactly are these two enigmatic priestesses with secrets piled as high as their heads? What does a demon want with them? _

Val burst into the meeting room, throwing Tay ahead of her with a grunt. Nevermind that it landed every pair of angry eyes on her. It was better than only having a few listen. “Landrelia is gone!” Her voice was gravel from the wolf. 

The air was sucked out of the room. It was Cydris that spoke first. “ _ Gone? _ What do you mean, gone?”

“She was taken by the same group that killed Unas. I know it. They left another note in Eredun.” Val sucked in a breath around her choked out words, surprised at the lump in her throat. Her hand went to her pocket, drawing out the three foot long braid. Green as Hyjal pines, still smelling faintly of the soap that she’d use to wash her hair. Flowery and sweet. A few strands were even colored with dark blue. It wasn’t the entire length of her hair, but a good portion of it, and by the torn edges of it, hastily cut from her head. There was even blood on the very ends closest to the scalp, meaning that it had been done with a blade rather than scissors. 

_ They cut your priestess, Valliona Forrester. What are you going to do about it? _

Flames danced in her mind’s eye. Flames reaching high towards the fel green sky, the stench of demon flesh burning, brimstone and  _ wrongness _ . She could hear the screaming. Nevermind that it sounded like Lord Chesterhill begging for his pathetic life.

_ They will burn.  _ She answered the voice back.  _ They will all burn. _

She let the length of it fall to the floor, holding it in one hand as she drew out her next piece. The note she kept in her breast pocket. The paper had almost seemed to burn against her skin while she collected the wayward priestess from the tavern. It was written in that strange language, though this time it was accompanied by the Darnassian wiggles. “And Darnassian.”

Cydris took the note gently from Val’s hand. Her eyes scanned over the Darnassian portion, paling when she finished it. Her lips trembled, her eyes blown wide. “They’ve taken Landrelia. They want Taylande or Teldrassil will burn.” She monotoned, her eyes flicking up to the wavering Taylande. 

Did she even know what they were saying?

“Taylande.” Val prompted, shaking her shoulder a little with her free hand. “Taylande!”

She jerked out of her daze, seemingly sobered enough to speak and understand. “Did they say  _ why  _ they took Landrelia?” 

“The Darnassian is filled with taunts and references that I do not understand. Taylande…” Cydris trailed off, even more unsure with the loss of Landrelia. She had been their glue, their steady rock to lean against and ask for advice. Now that she had been taken, it was shaken to its core. They were lost with nowhere to go. Tyrande wouldn’t help them. They had no other contacts to try and get the help they so desperately needed. No rescuing legend to fall back to.

Val jumped to the same conclusion as Tay. Her expression turned into fury. “We are  **_not_ ** going to give Taylande up to them! They do not get the satisfaction.” Her voice had turned into a growl.

Cydris quickly shook her head, seeking to molify the Gilnean. “No! Of course not! I was merely suggesting-”

“Suggesting what, sister?” Faelysia growled as well, her arms crossing over her chest, brows drawn together.

“That we make it  _ seem  _ like we’re giving her up. Trap them. If they’re demons, they can be bound and sent back to the Nether.” She said quickly, panting.

The pressure seemed to leave the room.

“We need to figure out what this Eredun portion says. Before anything else.” Val implored, the braid held between her hands. “It might tell us where they are. Something else.”

Cydris sighed. “Then we need to find that warlock again.”

Val chewed at her bottom lip with her teeth, threatening to rip it open with the sharper wolf teeth. She hadn’t even noticed how close it was to resurfacing. She bit it back down, locking it away in a little cage in her mind.

“I may have someone who could help us find her.” Val said, her mind already picturing his fiery red locks. Ones like Cyristalen had.

~~~~~~

He was still at the inn. Gilneans bustled in and out like they had just a few hours previous. Had it only been hours? It felt like days. All without any sleep. She slipped in between throngs of people towards the bar where she’d caught a glimpse of that hair. At least he was easy to spot.

He smiled when he saw her.

Val tamped down the echoing deprecation in her mind, forcing herself to smile back. “Embry.” Her voice was tight. Tighter than she had meant it. She wanted to seem carefree. Less questions that way.

“Val.” He said with a slight nod in her direction. His eyes roamed over her face. Had he caught her flicker of hesitation? His brows drew together, slitting his eyes down at her. “Is something the matter?”

_ Shit. _

Val cleared her throat and leaned in closer, her eyes shifting around the room for potential listeners. “I am a part of a group of Night Elves to help the military bring peace to Kalimdor. Two months ago, the previous leader was butchered on Shan’surfal. One month ago I joined to find the killers. We found... _ demons _ .” Her voice dropped to a husky whisper, both leaning in closer to each other. Embry looked confused but let her continue anyway. “We found them not even a week ago. And now, Landrelia has been taken.”

Embry leaned away from her now, propping himself against the counter, a slight snarl pulling at his lips. “Alright. But what does this have to do with me? I’m not a part of-”

“I had to come face to face with Ophelia Smith over this. Yes, that one.” She said when his face paled. “Emma and Noira’s mother. My height, honey blonde hair, brown eyes. Older. Likes to dress in black. I was hoping you’d seen her in here lately.”

“Uh, Ophelia? Yeah.” He licked at his lips, visibly nervous now. “She was in here the other day. Said nothing to indicate she was leaving. I can go see if she’s in her room.”

_ Oh thank the Light.  _

“When you find her, send her to the first gate of Darnassus.”

~~~~~~

Everyone was pacing. Picking at themselves, whispering. It had been an hour. Was she even really still there? Would she help them again? She’d seemed so scared during that day they summoned Vastrah. Val would have thought she’d be long gone. What kept her in Darnassus?

Even Taylande was quiet as she sat next to Val. No provoking words. It was almost like she’d fallen into herself. Her eyes flicked everywhere, seeing everything and nothing. It was almost like she was in a trance. 

The whisper of robes made Val look away from her friend.

“I hope that I’m making a good decision, Val.” Ophelia crossed her arms over her chest, not wanting to walk to far into the room. She was dressed similarly to how she had been previously, the style echoes of Gilneas. Though this was more navy than black. It looked nice against the blonde hair she let fall about her shoulders.

“Ophelia.” Val couldn’t help but feel a little elated. “Thank you.”

She sighed, letting her eyes fall closed. “Where is the letter?”

Cydris produced it, handing it over to the warlock without hesitation. Her eyes scanned it quickly. Had she studied up on her Eredun? She pressed her lips together firmly, crumpling the letter in her hand. “They’re taunting us. Telling us that we walked right into their trap. They will come for Taylande next.”

“Not if we come for them first.” Val growled.

“Easy, dog.” Ophelia quipped, breathing out another long sigh. “They will leave you in peace if you give her up. Something about reclaiming the Hands of the Queen. Whomever took her has wanted her for a long time. Both of them.”

“Great. I thought that I was done being chased all over Azeroth for my blood.” Tay threw up her hands, suddenly very alert. “Did they say  _ when _ they would come again, or would that be too simple?” She rubbed at her temples as she gazed at Ophelia.

“They say Felwood. In an abandoned barrow. Nothing about the timing.” She chewed on her bottom lip and crossed the room after a moment's hesitation. She set the letter on the table and sat, letting her robe fall flat on the bench, and looked Tay in the eye. It was a motherly sort of look; no matter that it was Tay that was the elder here. “Do you know anything about these demons? Why they could have chosen to antagonize both you and Landrelia?”

Tay gave her a sharp look, regarding her in that owl-like way she had. It was almost like she was weighing her words for once in her life. It was so long before she spoke that Ophelia shot out a hand to one of Tay’s, wrapping her fingers around her palm. Tay narrowed her eyes but didn’t pull her hand from Ophelia’s. “I do not know Landrelia other than she was one of my shan’do’s when I was studying at the Winterspring temple. She wasn’t anything special, though she mothered over the girls there, myself especially.” Her brows drew together as the memories replayed in her mind. Pain etched across her face after a moment, chased by another nameless expression. Grief? Anger?

“You weren’t threatened while you resided at the temple?”

“Not to my knowledge.”

Ophelia made a move to stand but Tay gripped her hand back suddenly. “There may be someone who’d like to know where Landrelia went. Who might help us.” She drawled, each word slower than the last. Her face was paler than usual. Then she shook the thoughts away and let go of Ophelia. “But-”

“But what, Taylande?” Val prompted. Others who cared what happened to Lan? Why would Tay want to keep that from them?

“ _ But _ I royally pissed her off the last time I saw her. She wants nothing to do with me more than likely. She might not even be on Kalimdor. She may still be in Pandaria.”

Val let her eyes fall closed. What else could she expect from Taylande? “Then we only have each other for this. We have to go back to Felwood and  _ find her _ . Before anything horrible happens to her.”

“I’ll be bait.” Tay offered, her face turning resolute. “For my shan’do.”

“Are we all in agreement?” Cydris offered, looking to the little ragtag group. Far too few. Many shook their heads and turned on their heel, leaving them until it was just the six of them.

Until a seventh appeared.

“Have room for another wolf?”


	6. Revenant

It had been a week. A week of traipsing from one empty barrow to the next with no luck. Ophelia had no luck in divining the location either. Too many extraneous demonic power signs littered Felwood. The remaining group looked worn down from their near constant marching, only returning to their heavily fortified defenses when it became too dark to see their hands in front of their faces.

An entire week. Gone. With Light knew what was happening to Landrelia. In the dark, far underground. Alone. Wondering if anyone was going to come and help her. Was she angry? Disappointed? Scared?

_Why wouldn’t she be scared? She’s in the hands of demons, idiot._

The sun was going down. It would be time to head back to their camp for the night and hope that nothing attacked them. They had a rotating watch but they were so few in number that no one dared sleep too soundly. Not that Felwood would allow you to sleep deeply. Something was horribly wrong with these woods ever since the demons infested it. Tormented spirits seemed to cry out constantly, draining the energy from you, making you see things that may not be there.

“We have to turn back. We’ll get no farther finding her stumbling around here in the dark.” Ophelia said. Her face fell as she turned her highlands pony around, the saber riders following suit. Val could feel the bones in her ass crying out from sitting in a saddle for so long. How many hours did they ride today? Nearly half the day to get to this remote barrow. Leila let out a whiffle, chewing with the bit as Val stopped her. She gave the mare a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

They’d decided to go a little further out, to another barrow that a passing druid told them about. A leftover from the days when druids took on the forms of Goldrinn, the father of the worgen curse. But the barrow had been empty aside from lavender blood scattered across the dirt floor. But it looked a week old. Perhaps older. Val turned Leila smoothly, remembering the ride she’d taken on Sparrow with Connor to fix her leg. She wondered briefly if Leila and Sparrow could have been related. Did the thought bring her comfort? She could almost feel the press of Connor against her back as she trotted after Ophelia.

Tay eased her saber next to Val. “Do you think that we’ll find her?”

_Did Tay sound worried?_

Val slid her eyes from the trail to Tay. It was always a shock to see the sabers so close. They were monstrous, huge beasts that could be reduced to kittens in their friends hands. Val didn’t think that cats could get so big that they could be ridden like a horse. It made Leila let out another whiffle as she sidestepped a bit more out of the saber’s reach. The saber padded smoothly next to Val, her shoulder bunching and unbunching with each stride. Muscle rippled under the icy purple fur. Tay had told her that her mount was from Winterspring, the place where she’d grown up in the temple. A gift from one of her friends. Seranthi was her name.

“We have to.” Val murmured. Leila plodded along beside Seranthi. Everyone seemed a little more worn down now. It felt as if they were racing against a clock that had already run out.

Now they were speeding towards disaster.

Tay snapped her mouth shut and nodded, her hands gripping onto Seranthi’s thick fur. It was quiet for a good few minutes. “She was like my mother.” Her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. “Back at the temple.”

“She was like mine too.” Val’s voice was equally as quiet. “I never knew my mother. Not really. I was an orphan, back in Gilneas.” _Or so I’d been told._ But Kenatia was still out there. Did she hope that Val was alive too?

Tay stretched her hand out toward Val. She didn’t question the elf’s motives for once. Instead, she reached out as well, their gloved hands lacing together between them. Where had the smirking Taylande gone? The one who’d sooner antagonize Val than pour out her heart like she had. What had Landrelia’s loss done to her?

They plodded along together for a while before Tay slid her hand from Val’s.

“Before, back in Gilneas, after I was bitten.” Val began, her heart too heavy for her to bear alone. Losing Lan had made Val realize that she cared for these people more than she let on. That she didn’t want to stay with them just to find Kenatia. She wanted to stay _for them_. She wanted to stay for Lan and Tay. “I had a family. A group of orphans and street rats. They were my family from the time I turned thirteen to when I was nineteen. They took me in, showed me how to steal, how to use a sword.”

“Embry was with us every so often.” She gestured behind her to where Embry led his horse. “He had a sister, a fiery redheaded Blackwald girl named Cyristalen. She’d always put a smile on your face. Or give you some unneeded fact about the Blackwald and the queer folk from there.” She snorted, ignoring the threat of tears in her eyes. She could see her so plainly before her eyes. The bright hair. Her lanky tallness. The wild tangle of curls that sprouted from her head. The clear blue eyes with the chips of green. Eyes like Embry’s, though his tended more towards blue. “She was with a man named Lincoln, towards the end. I like to pretend she went on and married him, that they’d have a little girl with fiery hair and a quick wit, like her mother.”

“And there was Aster and Millicent. They were like our parents. Mind you, Aster was a Hawthorne. She should have been a lady, like her mother, but she was thrown out of her inheritance by her squabbling elder brothers. She’s also my cousin.” Her voice was flat as she remembered Aster’s steel gray eyes and her black hair. Her pale skin. “Aster had a daughter, perhaps that only aided their campaigns against each other for gold. Opal. Such a sweet little girl. She had two mothers. Opal loved Millicent just as fiercely as her true mother.”

Millicent drifted before her face, her blonde hair flowing behind her, the sky blue eyes shining as she smiled like she so easily did. The soft way she’d look at Aster. The little games she’d play with Opal.

“A set of twin girls. Emma and Noira. Blonde haired. Brown eyed. So smart and kind and _good_. They were like our little doves. Something precious to be protected at all costs. They were our youngest, aside from Opal. They’d be celebrating their twentieth birthdays soon. Perhaps older. Its all muddied.” She shook her head, trying to remember how old they might have been now.

“A pair of boys. Dalton and Jonathan. Those two were inseparable. Good boys. Like my little brothers.” She smiled at the thought of Jonathan being her shadow once more, both playing their stealthy games to get better at pickpocketing quietly.

“And _Connor_.” She all but mouthed the name. When was the last time she’d said his name aloud? Years. Since the Cataclysm. Before the Wolf came and scoured away friendships with its rage. She found herself grasping at the chain around her neck. “He had hair like night. Like silk.” Her free hand seemed to absentmindedly drift through hair, as if she could feel it slip between her fingers once again. “And the darkest blue eyes I’d ever seen in my life. Like sapphires.” His voice drifted back to her. The way he’d say Valliona, with a smile tugging at his lips.

“But I killed them all. Butchered them. My entire family. I have no one left. No one to give a damn about me aside from Landrelia and now she’s gone too.” Val dropped her head to stifle her sniffle. Silence blanketed them.

No one spoke until they passed through the camp barricades.

“Ru ley’fa osa dal dieb.” She heard Tay say, barely above a whisper.

_I can be your family._

Val pretended not to hear and Tay pretended that she hadn’t spoken.

~~~~~~

“Val. Can I talk to you?” Embry gripped her arm tightly when she jumped down from Leila before she could move away. He almost seemed to block her in beside Leila with his body.

She looked him up and down until he released her, brows knitting together in irritation. “Uh, sure? Just let me unsaddle and brush down Leila.”

“Just...meet me at my tent.” He said in a rush, turning on a heel.

Was it her imagination or did he seem to shrink back on himself when she glared at him for touching her?

She shook the thought away and set to unsaddling her horse, making sure that the tack wasn’t too badly damaged from today’s ride. She took her time brushing down Leila. Making sure every last speck was off of her and then going back again. She even picked out her hooves slower than she would have any other time. Fed her the ration of hay and oats, along with a little treat from Val’s pocket.

Val found her mind drifting back to the encounter with Embry. What had she done to him that cowed him so? She didn’t even feel a bit of the wolf take over her expression. But he’d backed down from just a glance. Even seemed to bow before her. Refused to meet her eyes.

All too soon, she was forced to go and speak with him. She shoved aside the tent flap and came in. “Embry, what’s the matter with you?”

He crossed the tent in two strides, then he was clutching her to his chest. “Just a bad feeling I had, Valliona.” He said breathlessly.

His heartbeat was thunderous in her ear. His arms held her perhaps a bit too tightly but she found herself wrapping her arms around his waist. The high beating of his heart flattened out at her touch to a steady thump. They stood like this for a few minutes until Val couldn’t help but break the silence. It was times like this she could hear the screaming the loudest. “How well do you know Ophelia?” She found herself saying, her voice muffled by his shirt.

His heartbeat jumped suddenly.

Embry untangled her arms from his waist and sighed, brushing a stray lock of her hair from her eyes. “I can’t say that I knew her before the Gilneans left. She was never around the group that I saw. I was always working to provide for them, so Aster might have known more about the details. Though some say she was thrown in prison for practicing foul magic. I suppose the rumors were true.” He smirked at the thought. Then his face turned grave. “I wouldn’t talk to her, or try to become her friend, Val. She’s dangerous. And even more so if you let it slip you killed her daughters.” His voice had become a husky whisper.

“Embry, I promise, I’ll be alright.” She reached out to touch his face but he caught her hand.

His eyes were dark, pupils blown wide. Was he sweating? Why was he so shaky as he held Val’s wrist? “Promise me you won’t talk to her anymore.”

“Embry, what-” She glanced down at the grip on her wrist, trying to pull out of it to no avail.

“Promise me, please. I just want you to walk out of this at the end. No extra ties to the demons.” His grip tightened, making her wrist cry out at the pressure

“Em-” Her voice squeaked as she tried to rise, to back away from him.

“Promise me!” His grip had become a vise. Grinding her bones together. A little voice in Val’s head screamed out at her to run.

But perhaps he was justifiably nervous about parading around a demon infested forest with a demon summoner on the trail of demon abductors.

She shoved it down and gripped the hand that was holding her so tightly. “Embry, I _promise_ , I won’t talk to her anymore! Just let me go, you’re hurting me!”

He let go all at once, bowing his head into her. “I’m sorry,” He whispered, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I’m sorry. I’m just so worried about you.”

She rubbed at her wrist until Embry rose from his supplanting position, planting his own kisses around her wrist where the bruises were starting to form in the shape of his fingers.

He trailed his lips up her arm, shoving up the coat sleeve as far as he could, planting a kiss every so often. Val found herself melting into the touch, sliding the coat off at the insistence of his hands. He quickly unbuckled her leather armor and cast it aside, fingers working on the buttons and ties that held her clothes to her body.

Those hands that bruised laid her down so softly against the bedroll. They trailed fire across her skin, made her mouth drift open, made the softest sounds escape from those parted lips.

And Valliona could forget, for a while, the darkening bruises on her wrist and the panic in her heart.

~~~~~~

It was dawn when they heard a groan from outside the camp’s walls. Val was the first out of Embry’s tent, stretching a crick out of her neck. Tay was the last one on watch for the night.

She found her standing, staring blank faced at the limping figure that came towards them.

She looked so lost.

“Help me.” She said hoarsely. Had they done the bare minimum to keep her alive? She looked so hollow. So thin. Bloody and ragged and bruised. Her once impeccable robes were stained with dirt and blood and ichor. The beautiful lengths of that long pine green hair was a matted mess of closely cropped hair. In patches it looked like it had been ripped from her head, or shorn too closely with a blade. There were new cuts on her skin, ones that still oozed with blood and the beginnings of infection. “Elune’s breath, help me, please.”

Val ran forward, letting the priestess fall against her. It was a wonder that she didn’t knock her down as her legs gave way. “Landrelia, how did you get free?” She whispered, gone into shock. If she spoke any louder, Lan would disappear. Or she’d wake from the dream.

“I saw an opportunity and took it, while their backs were turned. I ran until I got here.”

Tay had finally found her wits and let out a shout for Cydris and Faelysia. Ophelia appeared before either, taking in Landrelia’s broken body. Her eyes narrowed slightly before the warlock turned on her heel and headed back into her tent.

Cydris threw her arms around Landrelia and held her tightly. “Oh, Shan’do, thank Elune you’re back!” She let Lan slide from her arms, her brows lifting as she noticed her grimace. “Oh! I had forgotten your injuries, let me heal-”

“No!” She yelled, making Cydris back a few steps. Lan let her eyes fall closed as she swayed on her feet, breathing softly. “No, I’ll be fine. I just need to heal normally.”

Cydris nodded and cast one last wide eyed glance at Lan before she turned to Val. “We need to get some food in her before anything else. I’ll prepare a stew with the rest of our provisions. Clean Lan up in the meantime.”

Val nodded and led her back to her tent.

~~~~~~

The injuries were far worse than Val had originally thought. Whip marks lined her back now, from shoulders to hips. Deep ones too, like they had been repeated over and over again. Deep enough that they still cracked and bled if she stretched too far. Val found herself gently scrubbing at these wounds, applying a healing salve over them. Lan hissed and grimaced the whole time, almost shying away from the healing. Maybe the fel weapons they used made it harder for pure things to touch her. It might just have to run its course before they could try Elune’s blessings.

When the dirt was scrubbed from her and she was in some fresh robes, Val led her towards the fire, taking the steaming bowl from Tay before she retreated from tending the stew.

She handed Lan the bowl of stew and sat back to watch her. The rest of the group milled about, Cydris and Ophelia were thrown into a lengthy discussion. Taylande was drinking far away from Landrelia. Embry was pacing the outside in his worgen form, making sure that no demons would make their way inside the camp to take her back from them. Faelysia was patrolling with him, each doubling over the other’s trail.

But something about the priestess made her look at her a little closer. It was like a crackle in the air, or the way she seemed to straighten up and lose the impact of her injuries when no one was watching that threw Val off. She had never felt like this in Landrelia’s presence before. She was always comforted and calm, almost sleepy. Landrelia was always accompanied by a sunny smile or a gentle touch. But now she almost avoided it.

Val looked at Landrelia uneasily. “There is something different about you, Landrelia.”

Lan grinned darkly, uncharacteristic of herself, and gave Val a pat on the top of her head. “Oh, Valliona, there is nothing wrong with me.”

The faintest tinge of green came over her eyes.


	7. Friends. Family.

Val found herself frozen in place. Lan finished the rest of the stew almost daintily, making a show of it. Then she turned to Val and grabbed her hands. “You will tell no one. Not your Keeper. Not your little wolf friend. Not the petty demon summoner. Not even your precious Taylande.” Her face was a painted smile, like the action hurt her.

“Who are you?” She breathed as she shook in Lan’s grip.

Lan smiled at her, but it wasn’t like herself. There was too much teeth. Nor did it touch her eyes. “Some on this planet call me Nilan. Others call me Maleor’kanas. It does not matter to me. I claimed this priestess long ago. I merely came to collect on my debt. But,” They even spoke with two voices. The sweet tones of Landrelia and the deeper, more harsh demonic dialect accented the words. It was like Landrelia’s body was just a puppet on a string, being forced to say this or do that. “I am an Eredar, that’s all you need to know.”

Val’s whole body was shaking now. An Eredar? On Azeroth? There were satyr and felguard, perhaps even felhounds and their ilk but an  _ Eredar? _ The last time one had been on Azeroth was at the end of the Third War when Archimonde came through. “Why? What are you going to do with her?”

The Eredar reached out and brushed Lan’s hand against Val’s cheek almost tenderly. Val shied away from the touch, still trying not to call too much attention to them. Lan pursed her lips and sat back, retracting her hand to her lap. “She is mine, Valliona Lark, I will do what I please.”

“Let-”

“I will not,” She tsked and shook her head. “Why are you mortals all the same? ‘Let them go!’ ‘Don’t hurt them!’” They mimicked a high panicked voice, rolling their eyes. “Predictable and boring. Come up with something new.”

“What are you planning?” Val hissed instead.

They took her time responding, eyes dancing around the camp until they landed on a distant figure.

Taylande.

They broke into another toothy smile, the fel green burning brighter and brighter in their eyes until Val was sure someone else would see. “ _ There you are.” _ They growled, voice all deep and gravel. Then they suddenly regarded Val once more, the green disappearing all at once to show silver again. “You’ll speak not a word to anyone, not until I’m ready, otherwise I’ll butcher this entire camp.” They spoke so matter of fact. Like they weren’t hiding inside a priestess’ body. What harm would people think a priestess could do? They could go anywhere. Do anything. Priestesses were some of the most revered beings that walked across Kaldorei lands.

A sudden rush of anger seized hold of her. How dare this monster threaten her Taylande. “You don’t have the  _ balls _ . Hiding inside an innocent priestess’ body.” She about spat the words at the Eredar.

Lan’s face grew into a mask of fury. She seemed to bristle, the green in her eyes bright now. “You don’t know what I’m capable of, Valliona, so I’ll forgive this one incident. But you say that again and I’ll make sure your friends won’t walk out of this forest alive.”

~~~~~~

She couldn’t help but jitter around Embry’s tent. She fled from ‘Lan’ as soon as she could, going to the one place that might afford her some distraction.

Embry.

He watched her closely now. Something burned behind his eyes. Something that lingered on his mind, his tongue. Words he wanted to say but couldn’t make himself.

She turned her back on him, rocking slightly, holding Connor’s coat closed around her. Clutching it closed would’ve been a more apt description. Perhaps it let her imagine that he was wrapping his arms around her one more time. 

Her eyes caught onto a particularly interesting pile of rocks as they swam before her. How long had tears been slipping down her cheeks? What had sent her rabbit heart thumping painfully in her chest, making it feel like a vice was slowly being twisted around her until she could hardly draw breath?

“Val, Val.” Embry’s strained voice was in her ear. He’d settled her into his lap, still situated on the floor of the tent. “Val, you’re about to blow down the tent. Take a breath.”

She sucked in a shaky breath, the tightness unrelenting. She almost couldn’t force her lungs to expand. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t. She was going to-

_ Valliona Forrester, take a goddamn breath. Look at what’s around you. What can you touch? _

Her eyes darted around the space at the voice’s command. Her hands dug into the dirt floor, letting the grains fall through her fingers. Down down, like her heartbeat. She spied the bedroll on the ground, rolled and ready to be packed up. The lamp Embry kept near the front of the tent. The poles that held the tent together. Embry’s busted bits of armor. The chestpiece and gauntlets. Plates that strapped to his shins.

_ Slowly now. In through your nose. Out through your mouth. Like I told you. _

Abellaria’s calming voice cut through the raging in her mind. The rabbit thumping of her heart. The tightness of her chest. Slowly, she did as she was directed. Silently thanking Abellaria for her lessons on calming herself back in Gilneas after everything went to shit. She could never thank her enough for ending the rage of the wolf. For letting Val come back to her.

“Val, are you alright?” Embry breathed, half holding her. His hands brushed hair away from her face. Sweat covered her now. From fear. She could smell it in her own blood. Feel it shaking her limbs. She almost wanted to close her eyes and pretend that it was Connor talking to her. Press herself to his chest and let him rock away all her worries that this was all going so horribly wrong.

But she couldn’t do anything of the sort, so she squeaked out a yes and let herself be drawn against him, tucked under his chin, arms squeezing her too tightly for comfort. “Oh, my Val.” He whispered, arms tightening further. He nuzzled into the crook of her neck. His hot breath sent shivers down her spine.

She pretended they were Connor's. That he wrapped his arms around her. That he pressed his lips against the pale skin of her neck. His slim fingers were twining through her hair.

Her squeak came unbidden when he nipped at the hollow at the base of her throat. She felt him smile against her skin and press a few more onto her, shedding his old coat from her with a gentle push, gliding his hands over her shoulders. His hands stopped at the scars that still lingered on her shoulder, a perfect wolf's u-shaped bite. He turned her more toward him, brushing back the hair that had fallen in his way, and pressed his lips there as he tugged at the ties of her shirt. Over every tooth mark. Then he latched his own teeth into her skin so hard she thought he drew blood. For a moment it was bliss.

She hissed at the pain, brought all too suddenly out of her daydreams into the reality of who was with her. Close. So close to falling into that dream. The falsehood that Connor was with her once again. Always so soft, so gentle and calming.

But not Embry. He was wont to bruise, to chafe, to bite.

“Damn you, Em, that was too hard.” She shoved him away from her and turned away, gripping her knees with her arms. Her hair fell forward to hide her burning face. Had she liked the pain? It had certainly sent a thrill through her.

His lips were on her again, this time her upper back. “My apologies, Val.” He muttered through slower, more burning kisses to her exposed skin. “But I know that flush you get. You liked it.”

“I like you better quiet.” She huffed, turning slightly so he could reach new skin.

He laughed against her skin. She knew he was smirking. “Now we both know that's not true.”

She growled and smacked him on one of the hands that gripped her upper arms.

“I'm trying to distract you, Val. Let me.” He gripped her upper arms harder, tugging at her shirt now.

“Em, I-”

“Shh. Less talk more taking off your clothes.”

“Embry Hayward.” She commanded.

He stopped in his tracks. Frozen. Dumbfounded. Then he started up again, and found his words. “I'm just worried about you Val, you're taking this all so hard.”

She sighed and turned around to him. “What isn’t there to feel horrid about? My moth-my friend came back, beaten like a dog and now we’re supposed to go back to normal?” She hoped that her voice didn’t waver over the lies. She supposed she could tell more. They came from her so easily now. She couldn't see more of her friends die.

Em swiftly changed the subject. “What's going to happen to this now that our job's done?”

Val tensed and kept her eyes closed. She didn't want to look at him and see whatever was burning in his eyes. Desperation. Want. Whatever. It was enough to hear it on his voice. She weighted her words carefully in her mind. What had he gone through after Gilneas? He'd seen his family torn apart, been bitten and changed into one of the same monsters. And he'd laid with the one who did it. “Em, for better or worse, we are bound together. Bound by blood.”

_ We were, once upon a time Valliona Lark. Or did you forget that already? _

She shook the voice away and settled herself against Embry. 

“You are mine.” He whispered against her ear, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He nestled himself into the crook of her neck once more.

This time she allowed him to slip his hands inside her shirt.

~~~~~~

Val decided that Tay needed to know about Landrelia's extra cargo. What was one more person?

She found Tay with her eyes closed, sitting perfectly still, like a statue. She seemed both present and far away. Like she floated through dreams. She was dressed in her loose fitting shirt, almost like a man’s and her trousers. Barefooted and cross-legged. Not one piece of her belongings were packed up. It all seemed strewn across her tent. On the floor, on her bedroll. She toed around the empty wineskins on the floor, though they may have been used for ale or mead. Whatever she could pilfer.

“Tay.” Her voice was soft at first. She had no idea what might happen if she woke Tay too quickly.

Tay did twitch an ear but didn't open her eyes.

She looked less uptight like this. The sardonic smirk was erased from her lips. She looked at peace. Tension eased from her shoulders, from her brows. Val found herself staring, memorizing each and every line on her face. The curves of her tattoos, the thick and harsh lines, filled with old scars. She’d always wondered why they looked so ridged and rough. Like they weren’t done gently. They were a far departure from Lan’s. Hers were a piece of art. She’d told her that , filled in with a delicate lace of emerald green.

“Taylande, we have a problem.” Her voice was just a little harsher and she reached out to shove at the priestess’ shoulder.

Tay's eyes slid open, taking in Val's nearness before she jerked upwards hastily. “Val, uh, hello.” She sputtered, uncharacteristic of herself.

Val didn't let her continue to fumble for her words. “There is a demon that's possessing Lan.”

Simple. To the point.

Tay's face blanked. Then it grew into a smirk. She reached for the skin she always kept close to her side, half draining it. She wiped the dribble off her lips as she maintained her smirk, fixating on Val now. “And what makes you think that?”

“It fucking told me, Tay.” She hissed, smacking the skin from her hands. Was she already drunk? “What the fuck are you doing in here anyways? I thought you’d be packed up.”

Tay gave her her best glare and picked up the skin from the floor, finishing it before she replied. “I was going on a little soul searching, Val, nothing to be worried about.” Her words were slurred, jumbled together. “I suppose we should get ready for a fight then? Hm?” Her tone belied her cool exterior. She was nervous. Perhaps even terrified. They were such a pitifully small band. How could they fight against this demon alone?

She moved to get her staff or one of her many blades but Val caught her by the forearm before she could get too far away. “Tay, it's not just some petty little demon. It's an Eredar. One that's beyond us. And it has its sights on you. You and Lan.”

Tay narrowed her amber eyes at Val, searching for the markers of a lie before she dropped her gaze on the bruises around Val’s wrist. “Where are those from?”

She pulled her sleeve down and clamped her hand around it. “Its nothing. Just Em-”

“Embry did that?” Tay couldn’t keep the edge from her slurred voice. Her face quickly changed from the empty mask she’d come to wear to fury.

“I said it’s nothing.” She hissed.

“Val, that’s not  _ nothing. _ He bruised you. That’s...not right.”

“Tay, we have more pressing matters!” She cried, her hands balling into fists. “Like the demon that's trying to kill us all.”

Tay sighed, fingers tapping on her thigh in that nervous habit of hers. She was quiet for a long moment. “What are we going to do then? Ask it to leave? Its a demon.”

“We have to get someone else to help us. Aren’t Wardens tasked to take care of demons? We find a Warden.”

Tay sighed. “Yes Val, because Wardens fall from the sky. They’re always locked away in their temple. They’d probably lock us away too, for dealing with a warlock and bringing this demon upon us.” She raised the now empty skin to her lips before she tossed it aside, landing on the floor like the dozens of others. “I’m not drunk enough for this.”

“You’ll be drunk enough when you’re dead, huh, Taylande Silverblade?” Val spat, turning from her filthy tent and bursting back outside.

~~~~~~

She let the anger overwhelm her. Stretch her limbs and fill her muscles with strength. The change was instantaneous now. The claws pushing their way out of her fingertips. The tawny fur that covered her from head to toe. The razor sharp teeth. The soft padding of her paws on the dirt. The growling gravelly sound of her voice. The sharper sight, the keener smell.

Now she could smell the reek of demons getting closer and closer. Almost closing in. She tensed, the wolf turning her into an animal. It was nearly upon her now. Val lowered into a crouch as she dashed behind another tent. Perhaps Cydris’. Or her sister’s.

Whatever it was, its footfall brought them closer to the corner of the tent. Slow, languishing. Groaning. Just behind-

“Valliona, you have to help me.” Lan whispered.

“Lan?” She breathed. “Is that you?”

“Yes, k’laen shalla. Its me but I don’t have much time. The demon’s name is Kazoch. You need to tell Ophelia his  _ name _ . For when you cleanse me of him. He’s planning a battle. To what end I have not seen. He thinks I’m caged within this body but I am smarter than he knows. I’ve been listening to him think, finding him out from the inside.”

She stopped suddenly. “Leave. Now. Pretend we never spoke. Go to Ophelia, she’ll help us. She’s stronger than she’s aware of, shalla.”

“Lan-”

“GO!”

~~~~~~

Ophelia was in the midst of preparing a potion when Val pushed aside the tent flap.

And nearly got fried by the felbolt that Ophelia flung at her. She breathed out a sigh when she beheld Val. “Dammit girl, I nearly killed you!”

Val toed around the marks drawn on the floor, incomprehensible to her, and stood next to Ophelia at her workstation. Perhaps altar was a better description. Candles and other magical odds and ends covered it. Symbols carved into the surface, reagents and ingredients in various containers and jars. “What are you making?” She asked as she beheld the sight before her, her voice still the gravel of the worgen.

Ophelia didn’t seem phased by Val in her worgen form. She merely cast her a sideways glance as she kept working. “Something that will help us take care of our demon possessed Landrelia.”

“A potion?”

“Something in that vein. A tincture that can level the playing field.” She stopped and gestured to the drawing on the floor. “Vastrah may help us. Thanks for not disturbing her summoning circle.”

Realization dawned on Val. “You knew about the demon?”

“I knew that there was something _ else _ with Lan. She wasn’t herself. There wasn’t recognition in her eyes when she saw us. It was an act.” She turned back to her various reagents.

Val grew silent, watching Ophelia work on her potion. “Will that be strong enough to work on an eredar?”

Ophelia nearly dropped her vials. “An eredar?” Her voice was thin and reedy. Then she took a breath and steeled herself, standing straighter than she had before. “Then we can’t give up.” She finished with her mixing and poured the mixture into a vial. It looked volatile enough, shimmering a myriad of colors within the vial. What it could do to a demon Val hadn’t the slightest clue.

She turned to the portal and muttered her incantations, much like she had previously. Vastrah must have been expecting her summons. She arrived far more quickly than she had when they summoned her the first time. “Vastrah. Are you ready for some revenge?”

Vastrah smirked as she materialized from the portal, taking in the rather large confines of Ophelia’s tent. She turned back, waving her clawed hands towards the portal, opening it wider than Ophelia had. The felguard stomped out two by two, the first four flanking Vastrah. “I have more friends that can accompany us.”

Ophelia’s features grew hopeful. “We might win this yet.” She turned back to her altar, packing up her various odds and ends to prepare for their inevitable flight from this place.

Val gripped Ophelia’s arm, making her meet her eyes. She remembered what else Lan had told her as she beheld the Sayaadi. “His name is Kazoch. Lan told me that.”

Ophelia smiled and gripped the vial tighter. “Landrelia just gave us a shot.”

~~~~~~

Vastrah was followed by her own little harem of felguard. They wandered out of Ophelia’s tent, Cydris and Faelysia gaped at the sight. The portal still yawned open behind them, the felguard following until they numbered a dozen.

Ophelia strode forward confidently towards the middle of their encampment. She looked very much the part of a warlock, dressed from head to toe in black. But she still held the grace of a Gilnean Lady as she searched for the demon possessed priestess. Her back was ramrod straight, shoulders relaxed. Her long blonde hair was wrapped into an elegant twist behind her head. The vial was held loosely in her left hand, staff held in her right.

Lan appeared suddenly before them, grimacing at Val. She-it-they cast their glance to the other confused members of the group. Then it met Val’s eyes once more. “You know the price you must pay for this, then.” It dropped all pretense, speaking in that double voice once more.

“We shall see,” Ophelia smirked at the demon now, flicking the stopper off the vial and dumping the contents into her mouth, “ _ Kazoch _ .” Her voice shifted as she drew fel into her. It laid in abundance all around them. If there was one place she could be at her most powerful it was Felwood. It felt cold and hot all at once while everyone else readied their weapons, following Ophelia’s lead. It was almost a blur. Like time had gone slower. Val almost thought she caught a glance of silver and purple off to her right. Of a bear colored bronze and silver and the last fading glimmers of purple.

The demon roared and threw up a spell barrier, one that was easily dispersed by whatever Ophelia consumed in that vial. She threw crackling flames of green at Lan now, the demon dodging in the battered priestess’ body as best as it could. It stopped short at the first line of Vastrah’s felguard.

It met her eyes. Full of fury and hate. “A-rul shach kigon, Man’ari.” She hissed, in a voice that sounded like crackling flames. Like ruination.

“Gor’om hagruul!” Kazoch spat through clenched teeth.

“Achor she’ki” Vastrah offered, almost bored, at her felguard.

The first two closed in on Kazoch, followed closely by other two until felguard surrounded the eredar. Then a ring of felfire enclosed them all, growing smaller and smaller as the felguard drew in. Ophelia closed her eyes and started muttering in that strange demonic language. The only other word Val could understand was Kazoch’s name. It sounded almost like a command. A drawing of power.

Kazoch groaned at the words. Almost swaying on their feet. Falling to their knees. 

“ENOUGH!” Kazoch roared, bringing down their fist onto the ground, sending out a cloud that blinded the group. One that guttered out the felfire ring. Even the felguard fell to Kazoch’s spell. Vastrah let out a cry and covered her eyes.

Faelysia gaped at Lan as the blood spilled from her mouth. Then she stumbled backwards, hands scrabbling at the empty hole in her chest. Kazoch muttered his own spell as he waved his hands over Faelysia’ corpse. A shimmer came over her, like tendrils of smoke, upwards until it wrapped around his forearms. Another muttered string of words as he closed his eyes and stretched the smoke between his hands.

He threw it at the ground, everyone watching on in mute horror as the screams of Faelysia echoed around them. She sounded like she was being tortured.

Then it dawned on Val. He was using her soul. He tore it from her body to use.

He grinned now, watching his spell take shape as it fell into itself, an image of the Twisting Nether. He called out into that expansive nothingness. The portal brought with it the acrid tang of brimstone and felfire. It stretched and stretched until it rose far above everyone’s heads. They all stood, dumbfounded, watching as it fell into itself and the image of another Eredar.

He cast a glance around the group before he disappeared with the same smell of smoke, going Light knew where. The flash made them throw their hands up in front of their eyes until it faded.

Val searched around the now empty forest for Lan.

But Lan was gone.


End file.
